Obama Continues to Hope for Diplomatic Solution in Ukraine

Alex Wong/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- President Obama on Friday said he continues to hope for a “diplomatic solution” to the impasse with Russia over Ukraine, but warned once again that there will be costs if Moscow does not back down.

“The United States and Europe stand united not only in its message about Ukrainian sovereignty, but also that there will be consequences if, in fact, that sovereignty continues to be violated,” the president told reporters following a White House meeting with the Irish prime minister.

Obama’s comments come as Secretary of State John Kerry is meeting with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, in London, in a last-ditch diplomatic effort to try to resolve the crisis ahead of Sunday’s referendum on whether Crimea should leave Ukraine to join Russia.